1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to eye shielding devices, and more particularly to attachable sun shields conformed for selective engagement to the edges of a cap visor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Eye shields of various forms have been devised in the past. In typical practice the shield takes the form of sunglasses primarily designed to filter direct sunlight or its reflections in the line of viewing focus, but which expose the lateral cheek corners to unwanted sun glare. Various solutions have been proposed to resolve this problem exemplified by the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,689 to Miller, 5,379,464 to Schleger et al, and others. Sunglasses in this group are often conformed as a `wrap-around` structure in which the shield extends to the sides. Alternatively, both rigid and flexible face shields have been devised, exemplified by the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,378 to Hatchman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,129 to Gill and others.
Then there is also a third group in which the sun shield is either clipped to the visor or brim of a hat or cap, or hinged from it, to selectively deploy the sun shielding surfaces as the need arises. Examples of such sun shields can be found in the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,005 to Danley, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,071 to Vu, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,124 to Day. In these examples the shield structure is generally secured to the head covering, in a hinged, clipped or pivotal engagement, to be selectively deployed. In each instance, however, the primary shield structure is in the form of sunglasses which occassionally may include a side shield, e.g., the side shield illustrated at FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,124.
In most instances the head covering itself provides many functions for creating shade in the viewing field. A baseball cap, for example, has been evolved to provide convenient shade for the eyes of the wearer and its well developed attributes for this purpose are widely appreciated. In fact, the baseball cap is often preferred as a better alternative to sunglasses with the visor or bill properly sized and convolved for maximum viewing utility. These well developed attributes of the baseball cap, however, do not address collateral concerns such as those occurring during protracted viewing along a focus alignment that at right angles to the sunlight direction.
Thus the unique advantages of a baseball cap for shielding the eyes of the wearer along the viewing axis, while well appreciated, lack the features that can protect the user from unwanted side glare or lateral sunlight exposure. While various sun shields and sunglasses configurations, deployable from the cap, have been proposed in the art, the burden and complexity of their structure is often at odds with the simplicity of the baseball cap. A simple and convenient shield structure that is easily attached to a baseball cap is therefore desired and it is one such shield structure that is disclosed herein.